Endogenous respiration reflects the energy load imposed by transport of nonmetabolizable substrates and by induced de novo protein synthesis in Rhodotorula glutinis

Determining mating type and ploidy in Rhodotorula toruloides and its effect on growth on sugars from lignocellulosic biomass

Rhodotorula toruloides is being developed for the use in industrial biotechnology processes because of its favorable physiology. This includes its ability to produce and store large amounts of lipids in the form of intracellular lipid bodies. Nineteen strains were characterized for mating type, ploidy, robustness for growth, and accumulation of lipids on inhibitory switchgrass hydrolysate (SGH). Mating type was determined using a novel polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay, which was validated using the classical microscopic test. Three of the strains were heterozygous for mating type (A1/A2). Ploidy analysis revealed a complex pattern. Two strains were triploid, eight haploid, and eight either diploid or aneuploid. Two of the A1/A2 strains were compared to their parents for growth on 75%v/v concentrated SGH. The A1/A2 strains were much more robust than the parental strains, which either did not grow or had extended lag times. The entire set was evaluated in 60%v/v SGH batch cultures for growth kinetics and biomass and lipid production. Lipid titers were 2.33-9.40 g/L with a median of 6.12 g/L, excluding the two strains that did not grow. Lipid yields were 0.032-0.131 (g/g) and lipid contents were 13.5-53.7% (g/g). Four strains had significantly higher lipid yields and contents. One of these strains, which had among the highest lipid yield in this study (0.131 ± 0.007 g/g), has not been previously described in the literature.

SUMMARY

The yeast Rhodotorula toruloides was used to produce oil using sugars extracted from a bioenergy grass.

Oxygen consumption by Metarhizium anisopliae during germination and growth on different carbon sources

Respirometry was used to monitor the germination and growth of the entomopathogenic deuteromycete Metarhizium anisopliae on media containing carbon sources of different kinds (monosaccharides, polysaccharides, amino acids, and proteins). As also observed in several other species of fungi, M. anisopliae germination was found to be marked by a significant increase in O(2) consumption, which started a few hours before germ tube emergence. The exponential consumption of the carbon source and O(2) coincided with the exponential growth phase of the cultures. QO(2) reached a maximum value during the exponential growth phase and was drastically reduced after the depletion of the exogenous carbon source. Taking glucose as reference, we observed that casein, hydrolyzed casein, and N-acetylglucosamine accelerated germination, reduced the lag phase, and increased the growth rate. This fact demonstrates that the fungus can readily use amino acids and N-acetylglucosamine, which are the monomers of the major constituents of the insect cuticle (proteins and chitin), a property that represents an important physiological adaptation to entomopathogenicity.